Many types of baseball games have been developed over the years to provide entertainment and to simulate a natural baseball game. The earliest games were created in the 1860s as board or table-top games. Typically, a baseball playing field is depicted on a game board. In the early games, dice, a spinner, or cards were used to simulate most of the events or actions that occurred in the game; including, for example, whether a batter struck out, walked, or achieved a hit. Some of these games were based on actual baseball statistics, while others consisted of made-up players and teams. In some of these games, the dice, spinner or cards also controlled or dictated the defensive aspects of the game, including whether the hit ball was caught, dropped, or the type of play made by the fielder. Generally these games follow the rules of baseball in that the team batting sought to score as many runs as possible, whereas the team in the field sought to achieve three outs with as few runs scored as possible.
One disadvantage of the foregoing types of table-top games is that they did not actually simulate the actual playing conditions of baseball. The rolling of dice, the spinning of a spinner, or the selection of a card did not bear any actual relationship to the skills and odds involved in the baseball game, including pitching the ball, attempting to hit the ball, and attempting to field the ball.
In addition to the foregoing reasons and others, “mechanical” types of baseball simulation games were developed. In such games, typically a ball or substitute for a ball is pitched by one player and a second player attempts to hit the ball to advance runners and thereby score runs. In some games, simulated fielders are used for determining if the hit ball was scored as a run or a hit, depending on where and how far the ball was hit by the batter. These types of mechanical games differed from dice, spinning, or cards games in that the outcome of the game typically was at least in part determined by the motor skills of the players, rather than simply leaving the game's outcome to the laws of chance.
In prior mechanical games, the ball or ball substitute, such as a round disc, might be pitched in a number of ways. For example, the ball or disk might be pushed or flicked by the finger of the player serving as pitcher. Alternatively, the ball might be propelled along a close-fitting barrel or trough by some type of striking mechanism, such as a spring-loaded plunger. Another technique for pitching the ball is via catapult-type mechanism. Another way for pitching the ball is to provide a ramp or trough sloped downwardly with the ball propelled by gravity or perhaps propelled with the assistance of a striker mechanism that might be spring-loaded. The ramp or trough may be rotatable so as to pitch the ball over the plate or perhaps to pitch an inside or outside ball. With the striking mechanisms used, the striker might strike the ball on one side or the other or in the center to change the spin placed on the ball in an attempt to throw a curve ball or a slider.
The manner of batting in mechanical games also has varied greatly. In some games, the player actually holds a miniature bat in his/her fingers and swings the bat at the pitched ball. Also commonly the bat is mounted on a rotatable post structure. The post may be spring-loaded with the release mechanism controlled by the player when desiring to swing the bat. In other batting mechanisms, the player might physically flick or push on the handle of the bat to swing the bat about its mounting post.
Some mechanical games also simulate infield and/or outfield players who field the hit ball. Such fielders are typically placed at their standard positions on the simulated baseball playing surface. The fielders may be in the form of hoods, baskets, V-shaped brackets or barriers, shallow circular cylinders, curved barriers, etc. The objective is to stop the travel of the ball hit by the batter, thereby to record an out or limit the number of bases to which the batter advanced. Also, in some games the structure of the playing field or outfield fence is designed to determine whether the hit ball constitutes an out, a single, a double, a triple, a home run, or a foul ball. In some games this is achieved by dividing the length of the outfield fence into different sections, with the particular section to which the ball is hit determining whether the ball was a single, a double, a triple, or home run. In other games, openings were placed in the outfield fence, and if the ball was hit through an opening, the particular opening dictated if the ball was a single, a double, a triple, or a home run. In other games, depressions or pockets were formed in the playing field, and depending on what pocket the ball lands in determines whether the ball is an out, a single, a double, a triple, or a home run.
Recent developments in baseball games include computer and video games. In these games, all of the different players in a baseball games are typically employed. However, like dice, spinning or card games, video/computer games may bear little relationship to the motor skills actually used in playing baseball. The same is true in fantasy baseball leagues where one selects the players for his/her team from actual Major League players. The performance of a fantasy team depends on the performance of the actual Major League baseball players. Most fantasy baseball games are more akin to functioning as a general manager of a baseball team as opposed to an actual participant.